When reporting on economic development, the media often emphasizes tax breaks while downplaying the net new taxes generated. This leads many people to simply misunderstand how incentives work and can have serious repercussions for a community, as can be seen in New York with Amazon.

Infrastructure is key to continued growth in Tennessee’s economy. In Memphis, we must continue to invest in world-class transportation systems and we must look to new solutions to fund these investments.

First, let me say I’m pretty much all for development, especially in the Memphis city core, but I think the massive Union Row project demonstrates an inequity in the development process that we need to examine. The beauty of this problem, however, is the solution would have a positive impact, helping create new small “infill” development across Memphis in neighborhoods that might otherwise be ignored.

Indigo Ag will establish its headquarters for North American commercial operations in Downtown Memphis, where the high-tech agriculture firm will increase its workforce by another 700 corporate employees and invest $6.6 million over the next three years, company, state and local officials announced Wednesday.

Local government and business leaders have joined together to propose new changes to the economic development process, which includes a new joint venture to oversee how the Greater Memphis Chamber and the EDGE board recruit new jobs.

An emerging plan for a better local economic development strategy will include a healthy dose of regionalism, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland says, and adhere closely to recommendations from ad hoc groups calling for better research, closer management of companies looking at Memphis and setting and sticking to goals for pursuing specific industries.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s administration has a proposal for changing the city’s approach to economic development that is making the rounds with other organizations involved in attracting businesses.

A new master plan for the Port of Memphis calls for infrastructure upgrades to keep Presidents Island stable and a concerted push to maximize the potential of 2,300 undeveloped acres in nearby Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial Park.

September 2018

The city-county Economic Development Growth Engine organization known primarily for granting tax incentives to businesses coming to or expanding in Memphis should be empowered to pursue a broader economic development strategy, according to a new report that compares EDGE to efforts in four other cities.

Amazon’s emerging presence in Memphis – as an employer instead of an online seller – is hitting full stride with the announcement Thursday that the world’s largest online retailer wants to hire 1,500 people at two Memphis facilities.

These are the code names for some of the largest economic development projects in recent history — Mitsubishi Electric Power Products’ $226 million manufacturing plant on Presidents Island, Orgill Inc.’s $21 million world headquarters in Collierville and the $36 million transformation of Peabody Place into a headquarters for ServiceMaster Global Holdings.

Newly elected Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris kicked off “A New Era” in Shelby County government by doing something past county mayors have rarely done – being sworn-in at the same ceremony as the 13-member Shelby County Commission.